SOWING OUT OF DOORS 



thrifty row, allowing the air and light to circulate 

 freely among the growing vines, giving more room to 

 the gross feeding and deep searching roots, the natural 

 results being larger flowers, longer stems, better color, 

 and more flowers. As the young vines grow, the soil 

 should be hoed up to them on either side, thus strength- 

 ening the plants and keeping them in an upright posi- 

 tion, while the slight trench thus made on either side of 

 the row is of great benefit when watering the plants dur- 

 ing a dry spell, or, on the other hand, it acts as a natural 

 drain in carrying off the superfluous moisture during a 

 very wet period. The rows should be staked now, as 

 it is of great importance that the young vines be sup- 

 ported from their earliest stage, but this will be dealt 

 with in a subsequent paragraph. 



FALL PLANTING 



While we are on the subject of sowing, it would be in- 

 complete were we not to mention Fall planting. For 

 early bloom Fall or Autumn planting is to be recom- 

 mended if your latitude will allow of it. This method 

 is largely carried out in many parts of England with 

 best results. In the Southern States this operation 

 may be done towards the end of October, while for 

 this locality (Philadelphia) we have proved that No- 

 vember and early December plantings give the most 

 satisfactory results. Our experiments at FORDHOOK 

 FARMS have shown that Sweet Peas sown in early 

 October made growth about three inches tall before 

 severe weather set in, and that subsequently the plants 

 were frozen out, while seed sown in November and early 

 December just started to germinate before frost, and 

 as there were no top growths to freeze, withstood the 



15 



